The digital whiteboard has lots of great features that make it an effective teaching tool. It is often not used to its full potential. Most educators are using it to display their notes, showcase a do now, and others are simply relying on their presentations. Here are seven features to showcase how the “Whiteboard” within your SMART IQ experience can help add some sizzle to your lessons.

1. Templates
   Between manipulatives and graphic organizers there are over 30 templates that are available to add to your lesson. Are you looking to have students share what they already know or want to know about a topic? Then use the “Brainstorming Web” template. Are you studying the cause and effect of an idea or event? Then use the “Cause and Effect” template. Do you want to reinforce vocabulary and check students’ comprehension of a topic? Then use the “Frayer Model” template. These are just three examples of ready-made templates, as there are over 3o more available!
2. Widgets
   As former teachers, we understand the importance of creating an environment that encourages students to work with a sense of healthy urgency. One thing that can help contribute to this is to notify students of how much time they have to complete an assignment. Within the widgets tab inside your “Whiteboard” you have the ability to add a timer/stopwatch to any slide so that students know exactly how much time they have to complete their work. Check out the widgets tab in your board to see what other widgets are available.
3. Content (images and videos)
   Visuals have always been an element to help students gain a better understanding of the content being taught. With the “Content” feature within the whiteboard you can add high quality images to your lesson. The best part is that you can also add videos! Why is it more convenient to add videos this way rather than from a browser? Adding a video from the “Whiteboard” eliminates ads, which eliminates distractions.
4. Background
   Backgrounds are often not given much consideration, but did you know there are over nine different types of backgrounds you can choose for your digital whiteboard? Between your basic white there is also writing paper, graphing, and gray backgrounds. These can help you keep your notes more organized for you and your students.
5. Inking (ink to text)
   A popular pen within SMART Notebook is the text pen, which converts your writing from ink to text. That feature is now available right within the “Whiteboard”. Simply select the text pen from the pen icon in the digital whiteboard. Once you begin to write, your ink will be converted to text within seconds. This makes the writing on the board a lot easier to read.
6. Finger Writing
   Have your pens ever gone missing? Although it is preferred to write with the pens, you can now enable “finger inking” to allow you to draw and write with your fingers. If you select the text pen and write with your fingers it will also convert your writing to text. No need to worry about the dreaded missing pen!
7. Share with students
   Do you want your students to interact with the content being presented? Do you want to share a quick activity such as a “Shout it Out!”? You can easily share the “Whiteboard” directly to students by having them connect via a device. This will allow them to see the content you have created as well as allow them to interact with any slide you choose to.

Which of these tools have you used with success in your classroom, or which are you excited to try? Send us an email or leave a comment to join the conversation!

For more tips, tricks, and tools for teaching in and out of the classroom, check out more articles on the Teq Talk blog.

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